Comparison is the thief of joy.
As social media has taken the world by storm, we are constantly bombarded by people that are richer, more successful, happier, prettier, etc than us. But who draws the line between truth and reality, and when is being yourself enough?
Life Is Not A Highlight Reel
Don’t get it wrong, social media can be great. It is a fantastic platform to spread awareness, share your art, connect with people on other sides of the world, and utilize it as a creative outlet. However, the moment it becomes a competition and a place of comparison is the moment we need to evaluate. The truth behind social media is that it is not the truth at all. While we use this as a place to highlight our best moments, that is exactly what they are, our BEST moments.
These images of us on lavish vacations in cute clothing or exciting experiences are not our real life or what really takes place from day to day. These moments are a highlight reel for some of life’s best adventures, experiences, etc. It is a great place to share these moments of excitement, but it is important to recognize that these moments are not always reality.
Everyone Does It
Everyone is prone to comparison. It is human nature and commonality to compare yourself to those around you. This may mean comparing your jobs or salary. Your family or friends. Or even your physical appearance. Human nature breads curiosity and while it is NORMAL to look at other people in admiration if they have, wear, or achieve something you’d like, it is not ok to compare yourself. The truth is, social media has put these comparisons on blast. We are subject to the feeds of the rich and famous, thinking that somehow their successes make ours less. However, we don’t get to see the behind the scenes, we only get to see the bright and polished, and we all know life is most times messy and dirty.
Paint Your Own Picture
When we work, we don’t let a person’s success in our company or on our team tear us down or discourage us. Instead, we cheer that person on and praise their success and hard work. However, when we take to social media we suddenly see everyones successes whether that be the vacation of a lifetime, a dream car, or the opportunity you’ve always been waiting for. We are quick to get jealous and let that jealousy turn into comparison, robbing us of our own joy and leaving us to compare what we did that wasn’t enough. But, what we didn’t get to see was the behind the scenes. We didn’t get to watch that person work hard for the last five years to afford that vacation or take out a loan to drive that car. We see their glory moments and then let those moments define our own.
So paint your own picture. Take social media images for what they are, images. Do not let them define you, do not let them discourage you, and do not let them compare to you. At the end of the day, they are no more than pixels on the screen, and we guarantee you are much more than that!
